The Role Of Heroism In Homer's Odyssey

Homer’s Odyssey is a tale of true heroism and it entails many means that the reader will pick up on, each of which has its own significance. This story covers what it really means to be devoted to love and family. Odysseus in this story is the poster child for overcoming adversity and hardship in order to be successful. There isn’t just one overall meaning to this poem because all of the smaller images are what really make the bigger picture so incredible. This story isn’t merely a tale of a hero returning home, rather, it is a story of the loyalty and spiritual growth that lead up to Odysseus homecoming. Loyalty is a powerful force in life and can lead a person toward both success and failure. Odysseus was not loyal in the sense of fidelity to Penelope, due to the fact that he had relations …show more content…
Without Penelope’s undying loyalty for Odysseus there would be no successful homecoming. Penelope remained faithful to Odysseus throughout 20 years of separation in order for him to regain his rightful position as her husband and king of Ithaka. If she wasn’t loyal then Odysseus’ long journey would have been all for nothing because there would have been nothing for him to return to. Even with Penelope’s intense loyalty there still needed to be more support and that came from Telemachus. The brave son of Odysseus proves his loyalty to his absent father in multiple occasions. He remains loyal to his own intuition that his father is alive and goes out to seek for him and upon his return he stands beside his father in an effort to take down the stubborn suitors. Without Telemachus’ loyalty, the suitors would’ve run amuck long before the return of his father and upon the hero’s return he most likely would have been murdered if he didn’t have the support of his son. Loyalty is needed from not only a protagonist but also from their support